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Topic: 5 axis cnc (Read 25255 times)

What I'm looking at is cold rolled mild steel key stock for the linear bearings. I have heard but not read that stuff is denominationally accurate. For cold rolled stuff it is as good as it gets and as cheap as it gets.

(Cool sight.)

Your CNC router is probably good enough to make a CNC mill that is good enough to make his mill with. Have you read about Gingery lathes? I've misplaced the link but you can use engine blocks (cast iron) to make machine tools with. Very ridged foundations. He was getting +0.0001? -0.0003? hand grinding on his lathe. When I get a computer to play with (I need Google sketch up) I'll draw up and post my mill that I see in my head.

Gocnc,

What makes the 5 Bears dude the man is the accuracy with witch he put the stuff together. He milled everything flat and square. The work he put into his mill was and is just amazing. He had his Z axis unwind. Screw jacks are supposed to not do that. That little mill is just.... I'm out of words. But a High-Q 5 axis mill is definitely doable from the construction point of view. The question I have is how much can I put together a soft wear package that will function for? I will be doing some research in a bit on this one but if someone has already looked at it and would like to share? I don't currently know enough about soft wear to be able to say much of anything on the subject. I'm going to be changing that.

Hi Pie_rowI have just started expeiment with the software end of things for these things.I have Rhino and I just installed cadbam which is freeRhino is about 1,000 dollarsFor starters you can can a 2d program thats free and play around with that and then write the g code with cadbamNow I have to take care of the problem of ubuntt and emc2This is also free but I dont know everything about that.For example I want to install ubuntu without removing my windows i dont know if I can do that.

As for this design it looks good rendered but now that I look at it with cadbam i think there are lots of fault and cadbam is not going to be able to write the gcode unless i fix that so I am going to make something simpler like my initialls

You can save money if you just make a 3-axis machine (1 for left/right - X , 1 for up/down - Y , 1 for depth of cut - Z), or get a kit someplace, if your just doing 3-axis stuff like lettering. I know, I originally said 2-axis, but I was thinking too far out of the box.

To me at least, an Axis here for CNC basically means a direction or dimension of travel. For example:

A single (1) axis system is basically where something, like the CNC cutting tool, can move left or right in a straight line, we can name this the X axis, X dimension or horizontal dimension.

Another way (2) to move the tool is in the up and down direction in a straight line (this is perpendicular or 90 degrees right angle from the horizontal dimension), we can name this the Y axis, Y dimension or vertical dimension.

And then there is another third (3) dimension that the tool can cut, and it is the Z axis or depth dimension, or Z dimension.

The computer will take the drawings and convert to them to a CNC code to run the stepper motors. (thats what I know from this site, since I do not have a CNC machine).

I seen some photos of CNC kits or machines for sale, already made if someone cannot get the materials or have the skill to make one. I dont have the link, but the one I seen had some small stepper motors that you find anyplace, unless they come with the kit.

Does anyone know the answer to this question. I heard of router machines that can follow a 3d pattern or mold already shaped, and maby called a "shaper milling/cnc machine" or something.

I'm now thinking of, is there a machine/computer or crude method to scan a 3d object (without a laser system), even if it's just with a fine pointing tool that touches the object in various places all over it, the more points (X,Y,Z) taken, the better the milling/routing will be I guess ? Has anyone thought or experimented with this, or any machines or links available about this since it seems to be something in the melt of the CNC community. Maby it's called some kind of "3D tracing machine"?

... I imagine a machine can be contructed and each points coordinates (X,Y,Z) numbers, of the pattern/mold, are read off a mechanical counter. These numbers can then put entered into a computer to run the stepper motors of the milling/cnc machine.

There is a device called a touch probe that can be attached to a CNC machine and will do what you are thinking. I've never used one, but here is a link to a DIY version. http://www.brusselsprout.org/CNC/1P-Probe/

Ok, thanks, I was just reviewing the link I posted above to a general discussion of CAD-CNC routing stuff, and it mentions and has a photo of what is known as a "digitizing probe". I didn't fully read the article in the link I posted, and just noticed your link today. A further link was also given about a

I'll take a look at the link you just posted: Ok, It does look nice and interesting. There, it seems the points of the object are scanned in automatically with a homemade probe an then a program will increment/move the sensor/probe very finely as comparred to doing it by hand which is a really good method.

Though in the link I posted above, using a bitmap image/photo can be used for some carving if that image is tweaked/adjusted a bit. I'd like to say then that it is probaby good to have a computer (image) scanner to get an image if you dont have a camera. It is then possible to atleast carve something like a flat piece of wood and have a "comparable" resulting image/facsimile.